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Clemson dominates Furman 71-35

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP)

It hasn't been the easiest few months for Clemson sophomore
guard Jordan Roper. Following a solid freshman season, Roper
received a major scare over the summer when he suffered what coach
Brad Brownell termed a ''mini-stroke'' which forced tests and,
according to Brownell, ''questions about how he was going to
be.''

And after a solid start to the 2013-14 season, Roper suffered a
concussion against UMass in the Charleston Classic finals that
sidelined him for a game and hampered his offensive rhythm when he
returned.

Roper broke out Saturday night, scoring a season-high 16 points
in Clemson's 71-35 rout of Furman. Clemson never looked back
following a 17-0 first-half run keyed by Roper.

The Tigers improved to 8-2 on the season, while Furman fell to
4-6.

''There was some concern,'' Brownell said of Roper. ''He had a
tough offseason, dealt with a couple things and hasn't been as
smooth as everyone would like. At times, he thinks about things
that have bothered him, but he's doing fine now, which is
good.''

The Paladins shot just 30.2 percent from the field and their 35
points was the lowest by an opponent in coach Brad Brownell's
four-year tenure at Clemson.

Clemson travels to Auburn on Thursday, while Furman plays host
to Liberty on Friday.

Clemson rolled into halftime with a 38-19 lead. The Tigers led
21-17 with 6:51 left, but finished the half on a 17-2 run sparked
by Roper. With Clemson up 26-17, Roper nailed back-to-back
3-pointers and added a driving layup, scoring eight consecutive
points for a 34-17 edge.

He broke out of a shooting slump that began after he suffered
the concussion. He missed a game against Coastal Carolina and
combined to hit just two of his next nine shots against South
Carolina State and Arkansas.

''I've been trying to put up a bunch of shots, get in the flow
of the game since I had the concussion, and those shots helped
us,'' Roper said. ''When anybody makes a shot for us, it builds the
enthusiasm, it builds the momentum.''

The Tigers won their 30th consecutive game over Furman, dating
back to the 1978-79 season. The Paladins are struggling under
first-year coach Niko Medved and entered Saturday coming off a
97-93 home loss to Division II Mars Hill.

As usual, defense served as a foundation for Clemson's success.
The Tigers came into the game tops nationally in scoring defense,
allowing 53.6 points per game, and tops in field goal percentage,
yielding 35 percent. But with just over 8 minutes left in the half,
the Paladins were shooting 50 percent from the field and trailed
only 21-17.

They missed their next eight shots and committed three
turnovers. Only Stephen Croone's layup with 1 second left in the
half broke the drought.

''We hung with them for a while and then we got stagnant, tried
to play a little too much one-on-one, didn't take care of the
ball,'' Medved said. ''That fueled their transition. I think we'll
learn a lot from this game, I really do. This isn't the first team
they've done this to.''

Clemson extended its lead after halftime. A pair of dunks by
McDaniels - the first a one-hand alley-oop slam, the second a
windmill slam off an open-court steal - pushed the margin to 63-28
with 7:12 to play.

Furman shot just 23.8 percent for the second half and 30.2
percent for the game. Clemson finished the game shooting 50 percent
and 50 percent in the second half.

''It's just being more aggressive than we were,'' McDaniels
said. ''I feel like we were a little bit too passive in the first
half. We had to get it together in the locker room, came back down
and take care of business.''

The Tigers also owned a sizable edge in rebounds (37-23) and
points in the paint (36-18).

Clemson lost only two seniors from last season's 13-18 team, and
Roper says defense has been a major factor in his team's
improvement.

''Guys are more experienced and we're in better position
defensively,'' he said. ''One of the main things we wanted to
emphasize tonight was deflections. The past few games, we haven't
been getting that many deflections. You want to get steals and
blocks and tipped passes. Just have more activity
defensively.''

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